LONDON (AFP) - European stock markets headed upwards, in cautious trading as the US Federal Reserve prepared to give its latest decision on interest rates, dealers said.
The British FTSE 100 index rose 0.29 percent to 4,592.70 points in early afternoon deals. The German DAX 30 climbed 0.28 percent to 3,988.74 points and the French CAC 40 increased by 0.47 percent to 3,721.22.
The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index advanced 0.33 percent to 2,785.25 points.
The euro stood at 1.2258 dollars.
US stocks skidded lower Monday as profit warnings from US-based Colgate-Palmolive and Anglo-Dutch Unilever, coupled with a fresh rise in crude oil prices, undermined investor sentiment ahead of the Fed's decision.
US monetary policymakers were widely expected to raise US interest rates by a quarter point to 1.75 percent.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average slid 0.77 percent to 10,204.89 points on Monday and the tech-heavy Nasdaq dipped 0.11 percent to 1,908.07.
The main broad-market indicator, the Standard and Poor's 500 index, retreated 0.56 percent to 1,122.20 points.
In London, Tesco headed the blue-chip leaderboard, rising 1.82 percent to 280.25 pence after Britain's biggest supermarket chain announced a 24-percent rise in first-half underlying pretax profit, beating analysts' expectations.
Pre-tax profit before one-off charges and goodwill items jumped to 822 million pounds (1.2 billion euros, 1.5 billion dollars) in the 24 weeks to August 14, from 661 million pounds during the same period of the previous year.
"Just when we thought Tesco could not impress us, we get this," said US broker Merrill Lynch, as it reiterated its 'buy' recommendation in a note to clients.
Tesco's success weighed on its peers, with J Sainsbury shedding 2.00 percent to 269.25 pence.
Retailer Marks and Spencer meanwhile lost 1.52 percent to 340.25 pence after issuing poor sales figures for the 10 weeks to mid-September.
In Frankfurt, German semi-conductor giant Infineon headed the leaderboard, advancing 3.02 percent to 8.87 euros after winning support from a strong performance by US peers overnight, dealers said.
In Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei-225 index closed 0.01 percent lower at 11,080.87 points in cautious trading ahead of the US interest rate decision and as dealers returned to their desks after a long weekend.
Hong Kong's key Hang Seng Index closed up 0.63 percent at 13,304.48 points on a rebound in selected property stocks after recent falls, dealers said.